Chieftains begin league schedule in earnest

Friday

Oct 31, 2008 at 8:17 AM

By Graham Entwistle SPORTS EDITOR

The Nashoba Regional High School football team completed its non-league schedule last week with a 27-0 loss to Wachusett Regional.

The Chieftains, who are 3-4 overall, and 1-1 in Division 1 West, conclude the season with four straight league games. The first comes tonight (Friday) when Nashoba hosts league leader Holy Name. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

The Naps lead the division with a 4-0 record, and are 5-1 overall. After tonight’s clash, Holy Name has only one league game remaining against less-than-formidable St. Bernard’s.

“If we want to have any shot at winning the league, then we have to win this game,” Nashoba coach Ken Tucker said. “It pretty much comes down to that.

“We just need to play better and see what happens,” he said. “The way we’ve played lately, and with the injury situation, we can’t be worrying about the postseason, but we do want to play a heck of a lot better than we did last week. If we play better, we’ll take our chances.”

Among Holy Name’s victories is a 12-0 blanking of Leominster last week.

“They’re a very good football team,” Tucker said. “They have an overpowering offense, but it doesn’t show as much in the yardage. What they do is grind the ball and use the clock.

“They’re a very physical team,” he said. “It’s pretty much a ‘three yards and a cloud of dust’ kind of offense.

“They run the double-wing with very, very tight splits in the offensive line,” Tucker added. “It’s basically student body right and student body left, send a lot of people to the point of attack, and dare you to stop them. Once in a while, they’ll fake off of that and throw the ball looking for a big play.”

Senior quarterback Santino Simone is 12 of 45 through the air this season. He has thrown for 318 yards and four touchdowns.

“Simone’s stats might not be real good, but he’s a pretty good quarterback who runs the offense well, and can really move,” Tucker said. “He’s also a lead blocker. He pitches the ball and then gets in front and blocks.”

Senior Kevin Greene (587 yards, 6 touchdowns) and junior Billy Derosier (469 yards, 4 touchdowns) do the bulk of the ball carrying for the Naps, but senior fullback Nick Granger also carries the ball on occasion.

“They come right at you,” Tucker said. “Derosier and Greene are very good backs. They’re power runners but, in the open field, they can go.

“Granger is very good as a lead blocker and an inside runner,” he said.

Holy Name’s defense is just as strong as its offense.

“Defensively, they’re very good,” Tucker said. “They get a lot of people to the ball. They’re very physical defensively, and very big up front.”

“Brandon Potvin may be the best defensive player in the league,” Tucker said. “He and McGuirk are the keys to their defense. They’re in on an awful lot of plays.

“They’re both very strong,” he said. “Holy Name must have a great weight-lifting program, because all their kids are big and strong. McGuirk is 6-foot-1, 220 (pounds) and Potvin is 6-foot-2 and 245.”

Senior defensive lineman Jake Jacevicius has five sacks to his credit.

“He’s also big,” Tucker said. “He’s 6-foot-4 and 250 (pounds).”

If the Naps have a weakness, it is their depth.

“Almost all their players play two ways,” Tucker said. “They seldom come off the field. Hopefully, we can take advantage of that, but few teams have.”

Nashoba can boast of having some of the top offensive and defensive players in the league, including senior running back Travis Patterson (869 yards, 11 touchdowns) and senior Matt Murray (57 tackles). However, injuries have taken a toll on the Chieftains’ season.

As a team, the Chieftains are still pretty banged up, but there is some good news on that front. Junior defensive lineman Peter Hagermoser and senior running back Steve Ek have both participated in practice this week, and may be able to play tonight.

“Hopefully we’ll get those two guys back, but I don’t think we’ll get anyone else back,” Tucker said. “We’re still limping a little bit. It’s tough to cover for six to eight injuries.”

Moving the ball consistently, and keeping it out of the Naps’ hands will be key for the Chieftains come Friday night.

“You saw last week we can’t turn the ball over,” Tucker said. “We turned the ball over twice early in the game, and it resulted in points for Wachusett.

“The same thing will happen with Holy Name if we turn the ball over,” he said. “If we do that, we might not see the ball for several minutes. They don’t hurry to the ball, they walk to the ball and use the whole 25 seconds.

“If we don’t have the ball, it’s going to be hard to score,” he said. “If we turn the ball over, we’re going to be in trouble.”

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.